Refurbished Desktops: Good or Bad?

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Anonymous

I've seen refurbished desktops with amazing specs for really cheap prices (I
am certain this retailer is legitimate and reliable), but my question is:
are refurbs good or bad? The specs are:

2.8 GHz Pentium 4, 512 KB cache
400 MHz System Bus
512 MB DDR SDRAM (Max. 2 GB)
200 GB Hard Drive, 7200 RPM
1 3.5" External Expansion Bay (No floppy drive)
8x DVD+RW, DVD-ROM
10/100 Ethernet, 56K modem
No Monitor
2 PCI slots.
5 USB2, 2 Firewire, 1 9-In-1 Card Reader
Integrated Graphics and Sound
Windows XP Home, MS Works, MS Money 2004, Quicken 2004, Norton Anti-Virus
90-Day Hardware Warranty

All for less than $600 USD.

I've been told that "refurbished" is just another word for "used", but I
think it's more like upgraded after used, and some people say you can't
really tell the difference, it just saves you a lot of money with little
less quality. This sounds like better value. What are your opinions?

--
Anonymous

"Treat your password like your toothbrush.
Don't let anybody else use it, and get
a new one every six months."
---Clifford Stoll
 
Anonymous said:
.... snip ...

I've been told that "refurbished" is just another word for "used",
but I think it's more like upgraded after used, and some people
say you can't really tell the difference, it just saves you a lot
of money with little less quality. This sounds like better value.
What are your opinions?
Click to expand...

I would tend to prefer used. Then you expect that the beast has
been working for some period, and just got upgraded. The refurbs
probably got returned because of a fault, and there is a very good
chance the refurber just couldn't find a problem and turned it
around. Of course either the refurber or the returner could be
wrong.
 
Anonymous said:
I've seen refurbished desktops with amazing specs for really cheap prices (I
am certain this retailer is legitimate and reliable), but my question is:
are refurbs good or bad? The specs are:

2.8 GHz Pentium 4, 512 KB cache
400 MHz System Bus
512 MB DDR SDRAM (Max. 2 GB)
200 GB Hard Drive, 7200 RPM
1 3.5" External Expansion Bay (No floppy drive)
8x DVD+RW, DVD-ROM
10/100 Ethernet, 56K modem
No Monitor
2 PCI slots.
5 USB2, 2 Firewire, 1 9-In-1 Card Reader
Integrated Graphics and Sound
Windows XP Home, MS Works, MS Money 2004, Quicken 2004, Norton Anti-Virus
90-Day Hardware Warranty

All for less than $600 USD.
Click to expand...

I don't think that's that great of a price. It's a near bottom of the
line system for today (except the HD).
 
nobody said:
I don't think that's that great of a price. It's a near bottom of the
line system for today (except the HD).
Click to expand...
Well, I count shipping and handling, plus I'm in Canada, so I based that
price on the current exchange rate. I've seen systems with 2 GHz, 256 Kb
cache, 40GB HDD, CD-ROM, USB only, selling as new. And my question was
mainly regarding the reliability of refurbished computers, that one was just
an example.

If you can name retailers that ship to Canada, and still fall under that
price, and are reliable, please name them: I've found none.

--
Anonymous

"Treat your password like your toothbrush.
Don't let anybody else use it, and get
a new one every six months."
---Clifford Stoll
 
90 day warranty is what bothers me. Most new hardware has a year, and some
have 3 years. It's a very average computer, and I may even continue to look
around for a better deal, but maybe it's good if your shipping is high. But
as for this machine, make sure it has an AGP slot -- integrated video
doesn't play 3D games that well. Also, you say DVD-ROM -- I'm assuming it's
a CD writer and not a DVD writer!

-Max
 
Max said:
90 day warranty is what bothers me. Most new hardware has a year, and some
have 3 years. It's a very average computer, and I may even continue to
look around for a better deal, but maybe it's good if your shipping is
high. But as for this machine, make sure it has an AGP slot -- integrated
video doesn't play 3D games that well. Also, you say DVD-ROM -- I'm
assuming it's a CD writer and not a DVD writer!
Click to expand...
I'm just quoting the site, here's what it says:
Optical Drives 8X DVD+RW, DVD-ROM


FYI, it's $649.97 CAD, with free shipping to Canada (shipping can be
expensive for Canadians, especially from American-only businesses).
 
Well, I count shipping and handling, plus I'm in Canada, so I based that
price on the current exchange rate. I've seen systems with 2 GHz, 256 Kb
cache, 40GB HDD, CD-ROM, USB only, selling as new. And my question was
mainly regarding the reliability of refurbished computers, that one was just
an example.
Click to expand...

OK, I agree it's harder to get as good deals in Canada. If reliability
is a concern, I would suggest buying local (from a shop, for better
price/quality, not a store chain), be it refurbished or brand new
(unless you are far north, in which case your options may be limited).
Most local shops will give you 1 year warranty and with today's high
volume low price components, you may need it sooner than you think. I
recently got some RAM go bad on me several months after purchase and
all I had to do was walk into the shop and come out with new RAM at no
cost (well, maybe 15 minutes lost time walking). Shipping would be a
major hassle, cause prolonged lost uptime, and cost extra. 90 day
warranty is too short IMO and a few dollars of savings isn't worth the
potential shipping hassles.
 
Well, I count shipping and handling, plus I'm in Canada, so I based that
price on the current exchange rate. I've seen systems with 2 GHz, 256 Kb
cache, 40GB HDD, CD-ROM, USB only, selling as new. And my question was
mainly regarding the reliability of refurbished computers, that one was just
an example.
Click to expand...
If you can name retailers that ship to Canada, and still fall under that
price, and are reliable, please name them: I've found none.
Click to expand...

You can try factorydirect.ca, they sell a lot of refurb stuff.. I've only ever
purchased new stuff from them though..

Regards,
Chris
 
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